Tagged: Milestone Media

MICHAEL DAVIS: Static Cling

It’s not a black or white world. The world is made up of many shades of gray.

Yet somehow when something happens to a black character “racism” always clings to the debate.

There has been a flurry of activity since DC cancelled Static Shock. The DC official line is the book was cancelled because of sales. Some fans think DC should have kept the book alive by whatever means necessary and only canceled the book because they did not think enough of the character to change direction.

Some think that DC cancelled the book because Static was black.

What do I, co-creator of Static, think?

I don’t care why they cancelled the book. I care that they cancelled the book.

A guy once put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed. I didn’t care why the gun jammed, I cared that the gun jammed.

Sometimes the reason for something is not nearly as important as the thing.

In the almost 20 years that Milestone, I company I co-founded, has been around I’ve never publicly commented on the direction of the Milestone universe. Never a word on the management rather I was with the company or not. I’ll do it here, but just to make a point.

I did not like the book.

Moving on…

I mentioned in a post on ComicMix last week that there are some who think that DC cancelled the book because Static was black but somehow fail to acknowledge that DC published the book in the first place.  I love people who don’t let little things like the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory.

Over on my website, Danny Donovan wrote an amazing piece about the cancellation called “Not shocked.” A reader wrote a wonderful comment making the case that DC’s actions regarding the Static cancellation had strong overtones or racism.

I do not believe DC cancelled the book because of some racist agenda.

So why do I say the writer’s comments were “wonderful?” Because he presented his case, backed up his thoughts and wrote them in a clear concise way. I don’t have to agree with someone to acknowledge they make a good case.

A few years ago during The Black Panel at Comic Con International I addressed one of the many rumors about Milestone Media by telling the audience how Denys Cowan started Milestone and I co-signed, period. Milestone was Deny’s baby and without Denys Milestone never would have happened.

Never.

Ever.

Ever!

Soon after Comic Con, a blogger went on line and wrote that “his sources” told him that my “version” of Milestone’s origin was not the way Milestone started and because Denys (who was on the panel with me) didn’t say anything after I made my comments, somehow that meant I was lying.

Like I said, I love people who don’t let little things like the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory.

So, me being me, I went online and told this guy that his “sources” were wrong. He came back with “these are very good sources” and he was standing behind them.

He was standing behind “very good sources” instead of giving me (who was there) the benefit of the doubt. What I did next was tell him I’d give him ten thousand dollars if he could prove what he was telling thousands of people on the net.  If he didn’t prove it then he should give me ten grand or shut the fuck up.

He shut the fuck up.

The comment on MDW made by the guy who suggests racism had a hand in the cancellation of Static gave a few examples of DC purposive prejudice towards black characters and creators.

And… he made some good points. I know of one instance when he was on the right track. He did not give particulars so I cannot say for a fact that he was talking about the following incident but it fits the general description.

When Milestone started negotiations with DC there was one meeting in which an important high-ranking DC executive said that when it came to black characters in the market place, black meant death. He went on to suggest we don’t show the characters in any ads so as not to turn off the public. He finished once again with, “black means death.”

At that moment one more racist word out of his mouth may have meant death if the looks on the faces of Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derek Dingle and myself meant anything.

Here’s my two cents. That guy was an asshole and people in the industry generally accept that he was out of touch and yes I felt at the time he was racist.  I was in his office once admiring a photo of a sports car he had on the wall. “Maybe one day with a lot of hard work you can have a car like that,” he said with a smile.

I reached into my pocket and showed him my car keys. “I already have one.”

The look on his face was well worth the distain he showed me from that moment on. He never spoke to me again unless he had to.

I believe he was racist and because he was a high-ranking member of the DC staff I believe he could be a problem. Was he a problem? I can’t say for sure.

Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz were his bosses and they believed in Milestone from day one, so fuck him. I saw him once after he left DC, he was very pleasant and so was I. Why be decent?

As Denys says, “too small, throw it back.”

That was then, this is now…

Hey Bruce! How you living? Guess how many sports cars I have now!

Here’d something that’s never addressed in these “DC is racist claims” concerning Milestone.

The founders.

No founder of Milestone would stand for any Jim Crow shit. Not now, not then.

It will never happen and if some people would just look at the backgrounds and resumes of the founders they would know that Milestone is made up of people that Ice Cube famously said are ‘the wrong niggas to fuck with.’

Has race been an issue at DC?  Yes!  Race is an issue everywhere. The question is when race becomes racism. DC did not cancel Static because they were racist; they cancelled Static because the fans did not want to see one of the greatest characters ever created fighting a giant fish.

A giant fish??

Really?

Lastly, DC took a risk with Milestone but almost twenty years later Milestone is still here, still a topic of conversation still a great universe with great characters and I’m sure that Static is a risk they will take again.

As Captain Kirk said, “Risk? Risk, is our business!”

Good job Danny… for a white boy. ;-)

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

MICHAEL DAVIS: The Art Of The Deal – Part 1

I’m not bragging when I say I’ve got a ridiculous résumé, and by ridiculous I mean bad ass and by bad ass I mean impressive and by impressive I mean… you know.

Really. I am not bragging. Consider one of my favorite sayings from the great philosopher Yogi Berra, who said “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.”

Trust me on this. I won’t bore you with the details but I’m one the best dealmakers in the comics business if I do say so myself.

And… I do say so.

Yeah, yeah. I can hear the haters out there. Who is this guy? Except for Milestone and ComicMix I’ve never heard of him.

That’s fair.

But I’m sure a great many of you love movies and have never heard of Michael Ovitz either. I’ll just leave it at that.

When I say “deal” I’m not just talking about getting a comic book done. I’m talking about expanding the medium to as many media platforms as my mind can conceive. Except for the movies (which I’m working on) I’ve done major deals in TV, mainstream publishing, education, the music industry, toys, the Christian market, radio and I’m working on a (get this) musical.

I’ve done very few comic books as a creator. In fact, I’m only done two mini series, a few covers had some work in a few anthologies and at Milestone. Yet I was named one of the most powerful people in comics for two straight years by Hero Illustrated in 1993 and 1994 and back then I had nowhere the résumé I have to day.

Of course after naming me to that list for the second time, Hero Illustrated went out of business. Coincidence?

Probably not, but who am I to say?

You may ask yourself, as I have, “Self, how the heck did he get on that list?”

It’s the art of the deal my friend, the art of the deal.

I’ve put deals major together such as creating a comic book universe as a high interest low level reading program which is now and has been taught in schools as a curriculum and I did that in 1996. It’s called The Action Files; it started at Simon & Shuster then went to Person Learning.

That’s a pretty big accomplishment, but not my biggest. 15 years later it still holds up as a badass deal.

I’ll use that deal as a step by step ‘”how I did it.” I’ll go from idea to how The Action Files came to be distributed in the school system by not one but two powerhouse publishers.

My step by step will be interspersed with asides which will (hopefully) help provide a better and true understanding of the what-and-why mechanics of the deal.

The Action File Deal

It all started with a great idea: comics in the school system.

I’m not the first guy to think of that not by any means. In fact both Marvel and DC have had comics in the schools for one reason or another for decades. Those “educational” comics covered subjects such as drug abuse prevention among various other public service content.

What made my idea different was this: I wanted to create a comic book universe that would be a complete reading program with study and teacher guides that allow for a specific curriculum to be taught.

Many young people go wrong when trying to do something new or groundbreaking they think that a great idea is all you need.

Err, no.

My idea was neither ‘new nor groundbreaking, but my program was both. With that said here are the steps taken that turned my idea into a deal and that deal into a reading program.

Step 1: Does your idea have merit?

In other words, is it a good idea to anyone else but you?

I knew my idea had merit because it just made sense. I knew this on a personal level because the summer I discovered comics I went from a forth grade student with a third grade reading level to a fifth grade student with a ninth grade reading level. I knew this because I had to attend summer school that year to be able to be promoted into the fifth grade. I tested third grade in July and ninth grade in late August.

Why had it not been done before with a major publisher?  That was the question I had to think about. That led me to my next question and step:

Step 2: What are the barriers to entry and why has this not been done before?

After thinking and researching this question for a few weeks (another reason people fail: they think a good idea is somehow magically going to go away or be stolen if they don’t move the second they think of it. So they don’t do their due diligence) I decided the reason why there was no comic book reading programs taught as a curriculum is because of the educational climax and prejudices that were associated (at the time) against comic books.

In other words no one wanted to see The Hulk in a textbook.

When I ran this little tidbit by my then girlfriend she responded“That’s silly! Kids love comics!” True, kids love comics and very few kids would frown on reading them in school.

BUT, you are not selling to the kids; you are selling to educators and parents. Get it?

That’s another reason why some fail at this sort of thing. The idea is everything to them.  They focus only on the audience that the idea would be great for. Very seldom is the end user the gatekeeper.

How many times have you seen a TV show and it just sucked? When’s the last time you felt gipped because you spent nine bucks on a movie that was just bad?

Have any comics that you wished you could not only get your money back but also find the creative team and beat them with your copy?

I’m sure the vast majority of the readers of this column have experienced some if not all of the above. Here’s the thing: that TV show, movie and comic book all started out as a good idea to somebody. I’ve had much better ideas and so have you than certain things I’ve seen in the movies or on television. Yet somehow the shitty stuff is on TV and my idea is not. That’s because all the people involved figured out and dealt with the barriers to entry. What happened when the movie or TV show was being filmed is not the problem you should be worried about while you are looking to sell your idea.

That’s another reason people fail. They ask for outrageous things the moment someone shows an interest. I have a dear friend who killed a huge animated deal at DreamWorks because he insisted on directing. He never directed anything in his life so guess what happened to his idea?

It went from a DreamWorks movie to just being another idea.

Here’s another thing most people will not tell you: ideas are a dime a dozen, ideas are cheap and there is very little new under the sun.

By no means is anything I wrote or anything I’ve managed to do a magic bullet for a deal closing. I’ve killed a deal or 50 in my career with bad moves and most likely will again. This series of articles hopefully will shed some light on the inner workings of real deals and how they got done.

Think “ABC” when it comes to deal making:

Always

Be

Closing

What good is any idea if it just stays an idea?

Next week, I’ll finish up the Action File deal and begin to tell you how I set up a comic book universe and animated film deal for the church market.

Until then if you are interested in deal making, Goggle Michael Ovitz. I’m good but he’s the best that ever was and compared to him I’m just a squirrel trying to get a nut.

A cute and sexy squirrel, but still just a squirrel.

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

MICHAEL DAVIS: Who To Blame… Part 1

I’ve had a very interesting career in comics.

I’ve done some pretty interesting things in my career. Co-founded Milestone Media, created The Action Files, the only line of comics taught as a curriculum in the school system and created another universe, The Guardian Line, for African-American churches and Christian book stores.

When DC comics launched Piranha Press in 1987 I was the artist chosen to illustrate the first series for the line. The Black Panel, a comics and entertainment forum I started over a decade ago, is now in development as a TV show as is The Littlest Bitch (TLB) a book I co-wrote with David Quinn.

David and I first conceived TLB as a graphic novel on the New Jersey turnpike almost 20 years ago. We were driving home from The Kubert School where I was teaching a master illustration class and David was my guest speaker that day.

Speaking of TV, Static Shock, based on the character I co-created, can still be seen on a Disney channel, which cracks me up because Disney turned it down quick, fast and in a hurry when we pitched it there 10 years ago.

I’ve done some other pretty note worthy things (I think) in comics but I’m most proud of my mentor program. Some of the biggest names in comics have come through my program. I won’t bore you with the names but I will say that because of my self-funded mentor program I have four city proclamations and a school auditorium named in my honor.

I’ve also managed to carve out a bad boy type of reputation in the industry. That reputation has many origins, depending on whom you get the story from but that story is for another time. I will tell you this: when it comes to getting that bad boy rep, I have no one to blame but myself.

I don’t tell you some of what I’ve accomplished in comics to impress you but rather to impress upon you that is there is plenty of blame and help to go around and there lies within a tale, which just may help someone who’s trying to break in now. Sooo…

In 1987 I was offered and was right about to accept a position overseeing the art department at a very prestigious prep school. This was a dream job. They were going to pay me a fat salary, give me an on-campus apartment as part of my compensation package and all my meals were free. The only thing I had to pay for was my phone bill as there was also a clothing stipend.

That was a dream job, so why didn’t I take it? Those of you who hate me are thinking ‘Oh why, oh why, did that loud mouth mofo not take that job?’

In fact, I was going to take it. I had started packing my bags when Denys Cowan talked me into going to the Mid-Ohio con with him. As fate would have it I went to the Mid-Ohio Con to attend a very small but very cool comics convention.

It was clear when we got there, Denys knew everyone and everyone knew Denys. I did not know a soul there. Denys would often leave me alone to go and talk to some one, which left me to wander aimlessly around the convention. It was during one of these aimless walks that I met John Ostrander.

Wait a sec-before I go on I should let you know that I was (still am) a comic’s geek. Although I had a very good career going as an illustrator it was my dream to somehow work in comics.

John and I hit it off very well and before I knew it he was inviting me to Mike Grell’s room to watch the Sable pilot. I thought I had died and gone to Comic Book Heaven. I adored Mike Grell’s work. At the time he was my favorite artist on the planet! Later when Denys arrived I causally mention that I was going to Mike Grell’s room to watch the premier of his new TV show.

The look on Denys’ face was priceless. It said “how the hell did you manage that?” We still had some time (I told Denys he could come as my guest; you should have seen that look) so we decided to browse the convention floor.

If you know me, you are well aware I talk to everyone. I mean everyone. I’m just wired that way. Standing at an artist’s table looking at their work without uttering a sound is just freakin crazy to me.

Little did I know the two guys I was now chatting with would go on to change the industry in a huge way!

End of part 1.

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

McDuffie Memento Mori

  • News
  • March 6, 2011

Dwayne McDuffie Milestone Funeral

We’ve found more things to point to in the wake of the passing of Dwayne McDuffie. First, we have the artwork above by James Mason on Dwayne’s passing. And Michael Davis, Dwayne’s co-founder of Milestone Media, presents what may be the last photo of the Milestone creative founders from the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. From left to right: Denys Cowan, Dwayne McDuffie, Michael Davis.

Michael also writes about Dwayne:

‘Motherfucker’ was part of the way I used to describe Dwayne. The full description was, Dwayne McDuffie is the smartest motherfucker I’ve ever met.

I’m a smart guy, I’ve been to Ivy League schools and I have a PhD. Dwayne could destroy me without breaking a sweat on any subject.

ANY subject.

How in the world can we go on?

I mean it.

A world without that smartass motherfucker is a world I do not want to think about.  Denys Cowan told me that there is now a giant, GIANT hole in the industry not to mention the hole in our hearts, which we both mentioned because as badass as we act, we are really pussies.

How do we go on?

My best guess is we go on by honoring Dwayne for what he was, a fantastic writer a great friend and one badass motherfucker.

Related articles
Dwayne McDuffie by Glen Muramaki & Andrew Pepoy

Dwayne McDuffie tributes

  • News
  • February 22, 2011

Dwayne McDuffie by Glen Muramaki & Andrew Pepoy
From all corners of the comics internet, the only word to describe the reaction to Dwayne McDuffie’s death has been shock… although dammit is running a very close second. His passing has become a trending topic on Twitter, which only partially shows how far his influence really was.

Andrew Pepoy sent the image above, which he inked over Glen Muramaki’s pencils. Dwayne liked it a lot and used it on his blog and Facebook page, it’s nice to see the original at a decent size.

From Peter David:

I will never forget sitting in his office as we worked out storylines. There was more than just his physical presence (he was well over six feet tall). He seemed to radiate confidence in his abilities, which was entirely warranted, and he was determined to roll with whatever curves Cartoon Network might throw his way and turn them into the best stories possible. He had boundless enthusiasm not only for his work, but for the sheer creative process. To say he will be missed is to understate it. I offer condolences not only to his family, but to the entirety of fandom for losing one of the great ones.

Geoffrey Thorne:

he was a great man. he was good friend to me. he was the only person in my life i’d refer to as a mentor. i can’t fucking believe it. i really am not a person right now.

(more…)

Dwayne McDuffie

Dwayne McDuffie: 1962-2011

Dwayne McDuffieNoted comics and animation writer Dwayne McDuffie died Monday evening, reportedly from complications due to a surgical procedure.

Dwayne joined the comics industry in the 80s working for Marvel Comics editorial and special projects. He quickly made his name as a writer creating series such as Damage Control, helping to redefine Deathlok for the nineties, and having She-Hulk break razors while trying to shave her legs– a throwaway gag which became notorious. He soon left the staff job to become a full-time freelance writer.

This led to Dwayne’s co-founding of Milestone Media in 1992, with creators Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and businessman Derek T. Dingle, which expanded the role of minorities in comics both on the page and off, launching a line of comics in 1993 that included Hardware, Blood Syndicate, Static, Icon, Kobalt, Xombi, and the Shadow Cabinet, all of which McDuffie had a hand in creating or co-creating.

Dwayne moved to animation when Static was turned into Static Shock for KidsWB, which led to becoming story editor for the Justice League Unlimited, Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien animated series and writing a number of DC’s recent direct-to-DVD animated projects– his latest work was the script for the All-Star Superman animated adaptation, which went on sale today.

He wrote damn fine comics, most recently on Justice League of America, Fantastic Four, and Firestorm. He was a giant in just about every aspect you care to mention, including size.

Dwayne was a major talent and will be greatly missed.

UPDATES: Apparently Dwayne’s death was due to a heart issue. More details as we get them.

And Heidi found this great interview with Dwayne, to show you a bit of what he was like:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u16sKK-1oLQ[/youtube]

UPDATE 6:40 EST: AP now has the first obit.

Related articles
Because it’s Christmas, by Michael Davis

Because it’s Christmas, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • December 21, 2007

Last week I told a bittersweet Christmas story and this week I was going to give my Christmas list of stuff that I thought would make good gifts.

Then…

I remembered the young lady I met in an airport a while back. I never got her name but she told me she wants to be a comic book artist and has no friends. She is a bit overweight and is being picked on at school because of that. She has a less than supportive family. Trust me, when I say “less than supportive” I’m being KIND.

I wrote about her in my column and related a story from my childhood that I hoped she would read.

I know what it’s like to that kid. I may not have been overweight but there were years when I felt I had no real friends. It’s the roughest around the holidays at least I had the support of my family…well most of my family.

So once again, my friend, this is for you. It’s a bit rough but trust me, it turns out OK.

My stepfather was an alcoholic and because of that I did not take my first drink until five years ago. I was under the impression that he was my real father and I did not want to go down the same road as him.

Get this: the way I found out that he was not my real father is an aunt of mine got mad at him and told me.

(more…)

Superman #2 – A Christmas Story, by Michael Davis

Superman #2 – A Christmas Story, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • December 14, 2007

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I love it, love it LOVE IT! It’s by far my favorite time of the year. When I was a kid my mother would always make sure we had a great Christmas no matter what. My mother had two jobs and was going to school year round. I learned years later that she always took a third job around Christmas. So I have a LOT of Christmas stories some good some not so good but most involving comics.

 

Here’s one.

When I was 10 I traded my cousin Greg all the money I had in the world (three dollars) for seven golden age comics he had found in an attic. Among those books were Superman #2, an All-Flash, a Captain Marvel and some others I don’t recall. I remember Superman #2 vividly because this was the age I started to trade comics and the number on the issues were very important to me and this was a Superman comic! I loved those comics, they were my most prized possession. I don’t think anything since has been able to match my pride of ownership for those books.

That year my mom sent my sister and me to Alabama for summer vacation. Yeah, send the little black kids from New York To Alabama for a vacation. That’s great. That’s like sending your dog to Michael Vick’s house for some exercise.

Well by some miracle we survived that summer and I survived the HORRIBLE wait to see my comics again. I am not kidding. I LOVED those books and because they contained Superman #2 I was BMITH (Big man in the hood).

Before I go on I should mention that the way we got to Alabama was by car. Yep, two days and two nights in the back seat with my SISTER! So when we finally got back to the states, (to us Alabama was like ‘Nam) I made a bee-line for my room and my beloved stack of Golden Age joy! The moment I entered my room I knew there was a problem. I could see my floor! For any 10 year to be able to see their room’s floor is a terrible omen of dire things to come. Where were my toys? Where were my baseball cards?

(more…)

Jasmine, by Michael Davis

Jasmine, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • December 7, 2007

About a year and a half ago my very good friend Giselle Fernandez (yes that Giselle Fernandez) called and asked me to dinner because she wanted me to meet a young lady named Jasmine.

Never one to pass up free food, I said yes. Truth be told if Giselle would have said; “Michael, Bigfoot is in my backyard break dancing, can you come over? I think you should meet him.” I would have believed her, dropped what I was doing and gone to her house.

I love Giselle Fernandez. She has been like a sister to me since the moment I met her. In the often BS world of Hollywood she is exactly what she appears to be, a warm, SUPER talented, genuine person. Trust me, that is as rare in Hollywood as a bacon eating Muslim. I still think she was robbed when she was on Dancing With The Stars a few seasons ago.

Giselle’s husband John is also a great guy…dammit!

Anywho, I get to this dinner at this swanky restaurant on Sunset Blvd. and there at Giselle’s table sitting quietly among some real heavy Hollywood playas was Jasmine. Jasmine is very pretty singer from Fiji. Giselle told who ever was sitting next to her (I think he was the head of some mideast oil generating country) to move and I was seated next to Jasmine.

She and I started talking and in the brief hour or so that we spoke I learned a lot about this beautiful young lady. One of the many things I learned was…she did not have a clue, but she was not stupid.

She had come to Hollywood with a real following from Fiji, gotten the attention of a manager and had set out to take the American music world by storm. She told me how her manager was “setting up deals for her.” I asked “what deals?” She said nothing had happened yet but he was working on it.

(more…)

Is it me, or are they just stupid? by Michael Davis

Is it me, or are they just stupid? by Michael Davis

  • News
  • November 30, 2007

This was supposed to be a lighthearted article about the wonderful time I had at Mid-Ohio Con and the “Geek List” my ComicMix colleagues and I came up with there. You know, Best Creative Team, Lee & Kirby. Best death of a superhero, Captain Marvel, etc. We came up with many great categories and it would have made for a great article, so great in fact I threatened my follow ComicMix columnists with death by DEATH RAY if anyone wrote that article but me. It’s only fair as I started the Geek List off with the first question.

Anyway that was supposed to be the article, but then I had the misfortune to discover a copy of Southwest’s Airlines Spirit Magazine from June 2006.

On the fourth and fifth page of that magazine, there is an ad for a children’s hospital. In that ad there is a photo of a young black kid on his bike. He is smiling and up beat.

He is also in front of a street sign. You know what street he is on?

He’s on PLANTATION VALLEY DRIVE.

Who in the world poses a black kid in front of a street sign that says PLANTATION VALLEY DRIVE?

What, was Coon Ave too far away? To much traffic on Jungle Bunny Road? Construction on Watermelon Lane?

(more…)

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